Process of producing useful fiber



" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KIHEGE OCHI, OF STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING USEFUL FIBER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 9 1919 \l a 1 No Drawing. Application filed. July 5, 1918. Serial No. 243,442. V 6:

X 3 2 To all whom it may concern: bleach the shreds, but being in contact there- 55 Be it known that I, KIHEGE 00111, a subwith for only a short period of time, merely ject of Japan, residing at Stockton in the turns the blotched appearance of the bark county of San Joaquin and State of Caliinto a pleasing chocolate color of uniform 5 fornia, have invented certain new and useful appearance, and after being thoroughly Improvements in Processes of Producing dried in the sun the shreds are ready for use 60 Useful Fiber; and I do declare the following and may be wpy en igto sacks in any manner to be a clear, full, and exact description of used in the art, being very flexible and the same. durable.

10 This invention relates to a process for pro- From the foregoing description it will be ducing a useful fiber from the hitherto unseen that I have produced such a process 65 l utilized bark of yyillgjy trees, the. principal as substantially fulfils the objects of the inobject of the invention being to produce vention as set forth herein. such a process for treating the bark where- While this specification sets forth the presby it will become flexible and to a certain ent and preferred quantities of the ingrediextent elastic, and hence may be used in the ents used in the process, still in practice, 70 manufacture of sacks and similar articles such deviations from such quantities may be instead of the hemp weave now used. resorted to as do not depart from the spirit A further object of the invention is to proof the invention, as defined by the appended 5 duce a process for the purpose above stated claims.

to which the bark may be subjected without the need of any especial apparatus or scarce or expensive chemicals, and which can be carried out by any inexperienced person.

These and other objects are accomplished in the following manner The bark is stripped from the tree in any desired manner in pieces of a suitable length. These are then dried in the sun until all the moistn ethereinbWa-Wed. The strips are then soaked in water until fai rly' lp Elle, when they are s e ed to form strips of about the same size as a hemp thread as used in sacks. These shreds are then immersed and boiled for ten minutes in a bath co used 0 e ual parts of any one of the ordinary forms of vegetable or mineral oils,

such as linseed, cottonseed machine oil and the like, arrdWatenin which 1s a sma amount of""co'm monv sal t and about three times that amount of soda. For any ordinary sack, such as an oiiion or'p'otato sack, three pounds of Willow bark are necessary, and the bath will have approximately the following quantities of ingredients:

1 gallon oil,

1 gallon water,

1 teaspoonful salt,

3 teaspoonful soda.

The oil saturates the bark, and renders it permanently flexible. The addition of salt toughens the fiber without affecting its soft, ness.

The small amount of soda added tends to Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The process of treating willow bark consisting of drying the bark in the sun as stripped from the tree, then soaking it in water, boiling the same in a bath COIlSlSl'A- ing of suitable proportions of oil, water) salt and soda, and redrying the same in the sun.

2. The process of producing a useful fiber from the bark of Willow trees, consisting of drying the bark in the sun as stripped from the tree, soaking it in water when so dried, shreddingthe same when so soaked, boiling such shreds in a bath consisting of suitable proportions of oil, water, salt and soda, and drying such treated shreds in the sun.

3. The process of producing a useful fiber from the bark of willow trees, consisting of drying the bark in the sun as stripped from the tree, soaking it in water, shredding the same to form strips of a suitable width,boiling such strips for ten minutes in a bath consisting of suitable proportions of oil, water, salt and soda, then drying the boiled strips in the sun.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

KII-IEGE OOHI.

Witnesses VERADINE WARNER, BERNARD PRIvA'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

